Ilus Eesti, beautiful Estonia. My family's homeland. Estonia's countryside and people have an endearing gentleness about them which you fall in love with slowly and imperceptibly. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Estonians' courage and determination to survive despite centuries of repression, tyranny and foreign occupation. This blog showcases all the things I love about Estonia and seeks to enlighten readers about everything this unique country has to offer.

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Birch Sap - Estonia's New Export Opportunity? | News | ERR

Every year, thousands of Estonians traditionally turn to birch trees to tap them for their lightly sweet, fresh and healthy sap. But now an international market is growing around the beverage, which Estonians hope to exploit.

This year, Harju County-based company Kloostrimetsa Fideikomiss sent 20 tons of sap to Italy, where it is used in natural cosmetics, Maaleht reported. Company's manager Ando Eelmaa said that the company has been in the birch sap business for about a decade. Most of the sap is exported, some goes to waste, as the need in the internal market is small - people simply aren't used to buying it.

Industrial scale production of birch sap first started in Finland in the 1990s with Arto and Susanne Maaranen's small family business. Today, they export the sap under the brand of Nordic Koivu to many different countries.

The London Evening Standard recently hailed birch sap as the "coconut water of 2015". An opportunity for Estonia? Possibly, but... The international market is already populated with brands from several countries, including the above-mentioned Nordic Koivu, Belarus's Byarozavik Birth Tree Water, and Denmark's Sealand Original Birk.

The Latvian beverage company Sula has also announced its plan to start exporting products made from birch sap to European markets. Sula is currently producing birch sap soft drink and birch sap sparkling wine for the Latvian market, Public Broadcast of Latvia reported in March.

Estonia's birch water producer Nopri farm started selling its product in selected stores and markets only a year ago. Last year, they collected 8 tons of sap, which was fermented before being bottled. Birch sap is collected over a short harvesting period in early spring and has a very limited shelf life, so fresh juice is difficult to sell.

Producers say that collecting the juice is not a problem, but marketing it is much more complicated.

About Me

I am an Estonian-Australian with a deep love for my ancestral homeland. My family originate from Nõo county near Tartu which is located in Southern Estonia. Many members of my family left Estonia during the 1940s due to foreign occupation and have since branched out and resettled across the globe. After WWII my grandparents spent time living in a DP camp in Hamburg before emigrating to Australia. Today we are the only Lestal family in Australia. We have relatives in Germany, England, Canada, Austria and of course Estonia.
..........................................
If you would like to get in touch, please direct any comments, enquiries or suggestions to the following email address:
estonia.paradise.of.the.north@gmail.com